Outside contractor Jani-King, which is paid $750,000 a year by the city, had not paid its workers, city officials said.

Thirty-five employees walked out on Dec. 27, interim Mayor Todd Gloria’s office confirmed on Thursday. That left the city wondering how the stadium would be cleaned for the Holiday Bowl on Dec. 30.

“When Jani-King failed to pay its employees and it was truly unable to perform the duties for which it was contracted, the city enacted an emergency sole source contract with ARAMARK,” spokeswoman Katie Keach said.

Officials at Jani-King, which is based in Texas and has a San Diego office, did not return calls seeking comment. Qualcomm Stadium Manager Mike McSweeney deferred comment to the mayor’s office.

U-T Watchdog obtained a transcript of a meeting between city officials and Jani-King held amid the walkout.

“We’re in trouble right now,” McSweeney said at the meeting. “This is the busiest weekend of the year and we don’t know if the check is here or if it will clear, or if we are going to pay people. Nothing has sunk in since we’ve been talking about this since the beginning of the year. This is horrific, the worst of the worst, the worst weekend of the year. A total failure. People walking out of here, I don’t blame them.”

The city has had troubles with the contractor before.

A city performance inspection of Jani-King’s work dated Sept. 29 through Oct. 4 rated the company “very poor” and “poor” on cleanliness.

“City staff have been diligent in their efforts to ensure Jani-King was performing at appropriate levels,” Keach said by email. “Jani-King management consistently responded to the city’s concerns, but the quality of work has noticeably decreased in recent months.”

She said the company nevertheless was given another chance.

“Because of the challenges of replacing a stadium vendor midseason, the city tried again to work out the challenges with its contractor,” Keach said.

City officials have not yet answered the Watchdog’s questions about how much the emergency ARAMARK contract cost. Keach did say Jani-King will be given another chance at a monster truck show to be held Jan. 18, but the city “is prepared to make other arrangements if those services are not available from Jani-King.”

She added, “The city has provided appropriate oversight on this contract and will continue to take actions to well-maintain Qualcomm Stadium as a city asset. The interim mayor will continue to monitor the situation, and has made certain that a new (bidding process) for janitorial services at Qualcomm Stadium is underway.”

The stadium itself was 120 days in arrears on a $4,700 elevator repair bill, according to a Jan. 2 invoice obtained by the Watchdog. The invoice was for “emergency repair of a pre-existing condition oil leak.”

Managers for Ascent, the elevator company, did not respond to a request for comment. Keach said there are no other delinquency issues.

“Qualcomm Stadium management has reviewed all records and found no other past due notices,” she said.